Tyre Nichols screams for his mom in horrifying bodycam video as Memphis cops punch & kick him in face in 'fatal beating' | The Sun

THE City of Memphis has released harrowing body camera footage that shows the fatal beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols after he was pulled over in a traffic stop.

Nichols died from his injuries on January 10, three days after the violent stop by five officers from the Memphis Police Department.

All five officers involved have been fired and face murder charges as of Thursday.

The hour of footage released by authorities on Friday shows officers stopping Nichols for what they said was reckless driving.

Officers pulled the man out of his car and screamed at him to get out of the ground while he yelled "I didn't do anything" and "I'm just trying to go home."

The authorities were seen holding down the Memphis man and severely beating him for three minutes while he screamed for his mother.

After the beating, the officers stood around while Nichols lay on the street propped against the car in agony.

All five officers were fired in the wake of the incident. They were charged with second-degree murder and related offenses on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The incident has been liked by the heartbroken family to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the actions as "heinous, reckless, and inhumane" and said they have yet to find proof that Nichols was driving recklessly.

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President Biden addressed the video in a statement that said he was "outraged and deeply pained" after viewing the footage.

"It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day."

Ahead of the video's release, police and politicians in Memphis and other major US cities braced for widespread protests.

Nichols' family encouraged the protests, but wants demonstrators to remain peaceful.

“If you’re here for me and Tyre, you’ll protest peacefully,” his mother RowVaughn Wells said at vigil on Thursday night, the New York Times reported.

“We don’t tear up our cities, because we do have to live in them.”

Although all the officers are Black, many commentators have said their conduct was still likely influenced by institutional racism in the criminal justice system.

Prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who's representing Nichols' family, was disgusted by the beating.

Still, he was happy with the speed at which the officers were charged and the footage was released.

“We want to proclaim that this is the blueprint going forward for any time any officers, whether they be Black or white, will be held accountable," Crump said, per Reuters.

"No longer can you tell us we got to wait six months to a year.”

The confrontation with the officers began after Nichols was pulled over for suspicion of reckless driving, but police haven't found any evidence to support those allegations, the New York Times reported.

Nichols was doused with pepper spray before he escaped on foot. Officers then beat Nichols at a second location, which is where he sustained his most serious injuries.

The five fired officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — were indicted on Friday.

They were all members of the "Scorpion" unit, a group of officers focused on violent crime. Many have called for the unit to be disbanded, a measure the Memphis Police Department is currently considering.

The officers have also been charged with assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

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All five posted bail and have since been released from custody.

Nichols was a FedEx employee whose friends and family remember him as a skilled photographer and avid skateboarder.

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